Bayern Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld says he has been impressed with the team's recent displays.
Bayern are top of the domestic tree and started the Uefa Cup group stages with a superb victory at Red Star Belgrade last week.
The Bundesliga giants obtained a goalless draw away at Borussia Dortmund at the weekend and the German coach thinks the result is a positive one on account of the strain his players were under.
'A draw in Dortmund is never a bad result, especially as we were so tired. Compliments to my players,' Hitzfeld told the club's official website.
'The game in Belgrade cost us an incredible amount of energy, so we were only operating at about 70 percent of our potential. You'll always come under pressure in that situation, so we're very happy with the point. Compliments to my players, I'm very impressed by the way they ran themselves into the ground in Belgrade and then matched Dortmund. We should have taken the lead in the first half, or at least right at the start of the second half, but by the end we have to be grateful that Dortmund failed to put away two or three excellent chances.'
27 October 2007
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has declared Owen Hargreaves fit and ready to start against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The England international has been restricted to just three appearances since his £18million move from Bayern Munich after failing to shrug off a knee problem.
However, an injection to cure swelling caused by tendonitis appears to have worked and the 26-year-old is now in line to face Boro.
"Owen is fit to start tomorrow (Saturday)," said Ferguson.
"It's been frustrating for him, missing games is not what he came here for. He's come here for a big fee and he must be a bit disappointed with the way things have gone. But it is a long season and he is back now which is terrific news for us because it gives us a better chance of doing well."
22 October 2007
Roque Santa Cruz is prepared to play through the pain barrier in order to fire Blackburn Rovers to glory.
The Paraguayan striker has been struggling with tendinitis in his knees, but he produced an impressive performance in Blackburn's 4-2 win over Reading on Saturday.
Santa Cruz had recently pulled out of his national squad as a result of the injury and was a fitness doubt for Rovers ahead of their meeting with Reading, but the striker insists he was right to put club before country.
"It was a very important game for us and we wanted to win so that is why I put everything into being ready for it," the former Bayern Munich ace told the Lancashire Telegraph.
"Not to play in the national team was a real help for my knees and to score so quickly in the game was great for the team. I don't need injections - it is not as bad as that. It is bearable and I can put up with the situation so it should not be a problem to carry on playing. I am going to keep working on my movements and carry on in training and even if there is a little pain it is nothing I cannot handle."
Santa Cruz also believes Rovers have the capabilities to target UEFA Champions League qualification this season.
"Everything is possible in football if the determination is big enough in the team," Santa Cruz added.
"Of course there are great teams in the Premier League but a lot of the time it is about mentality and our team is willing to give it a try. We will do everything we can to make it happen."
Meanwhile, Rovers manager Mark Hughes has revealed that Ryan Nelsen, who has been out of action with a hamstring injury, only narrowly missed out on a place in his squad for the meeting with Reading.
"We have to be a little careful with Ryan, but the extra week will do him good," Hughes told Rovers' official website.
22 October 2007
Italy are dominating the Golden Ball list of 50 candidates with eight players, while Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona each contributed seven names on the list.
- Golden Ball 2007 nominees:
Éric Abidal (Olympique Lyon, FC Barcelona)
Daniel Alves (FC Sevilla)
David Beckham (Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy)
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus Turin)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Petr Cech (Chelsea)
Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Deco (FC Barcelona)
Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid)
Diego (Werder Bremen)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona)
Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Gennaro Gattuso (Milan)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal, FC Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
Filippo Inzaghi (Milan)
Kaka (Milan)
Frederic Kanoute (FC Sevilla)
Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen, Bayern Munchen)
Younis Mahmoud (Algharafa)
Paolo Maldini (Milan)
Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyon, Chelsea)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic Glasgow)
Guillermo Ochoa (America Mexico)
Andrea Pirlo (Milan),
Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto),
Raul (Real Madrid)
Franck Ribery (Olympique Marseille, Bayern Munchen),
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Villarreal)
Robinho (Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
Clarence Seedorf (Milan)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham, Manchester United)
Luca Toni (Fiorentina, Bayern Munchen)
Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
Jose Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, Liverpool)
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
David Villa (Valencia)
17 October 2007
Reports in today's German press suggest that Barcelona may be looking to replace Italian wing-back Gianluca Zambrotta with Bayern Munich's Phillip Lahm.
The ex-Juventus man, who is widely regarded as one of the best full-backs in world football, has never really produced his best form since arriving in Catalonia last summer.
Zambrotta is currently out of action for up to two months with injury and German newspaper Kicker is claiming that Barcelona technical director Trixi Beguiristain is on the market for an international replacement.
The player Beguiristain is said to most admire is Phillip Lahm of Bayern Munich. The 23-year-old is a regular for the German national team and was one of their stars at last summer's world cup.
With 35 caps to his name already, as well as two Bundesliga titles, Lahm has the necessary experience to excel at Camp Nou. His contract with Bayern runs out in 2009, so the Bavarian giants may be prepared to cash in at the end of the season, or risk losing him for nothing at the end of the following campaign.
If Lahm does make the move to Barca, then Zambrotta is expected to return to Serie A. Milan, who were highly-linked with the 30-year-old in the summer, are the favourites to make any move.
17 October 2007
Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Jason McAteer feels former Wigan Athletic boss Paul Jewell is the frontrunner for the job at the Reebok Stadium.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Trotters announced that Sammy Lee had left by mutual consent.
As such, the likes of Jewell, Peter Reid and Peter Taylor are being linked with the vacant position at the Wanderers, who however are languishing in the 19th position in the Premiership but have moved into the group phase of the UEFA Cup and are set to face German giants Bayern Munich.
McAteer, who retired from professional football in June this year after also having played for Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland, told Sky Sports News: "Paul Jewell would be one of the frontrunners; he's been resting and has decided to get back into it. I know Peter Reid will be looking at it and would be a fans' favourite and Peter Taylor has just left Crystal Palace. There's a few big names out there and it's a big, big job. It would be nice to see Paul Jewell get it though. He's one of the new breed coming through and he's done wonders at Wigan."
13 October 2007
Bayern Munich star Willy Sagnol says he can see light at the end of the tunnel as the France international has been allowed by his German club's medical staff to return to training after his knee operation.
Bayern right back Sagnol has not played for seven months and was operated on his right knee injury last April.
The 30-year-old cannot wait to play again for the Bundesliga giants and to start his eighth season in Germany.
The former St Etienne player, who has an ambition to become Les Verts' chairman once his career is over, trained for the first time since his injury on Saturday morning.
'I am happy to see my team-mates again after such a long absence,' Sagnol told L'Equipe.
'I feel good and will do my best to return as soon as I can. I still have to wait for two, three or four weeks to play again.'
08 October 2007
Tottenham have missed out on a top seeding for Tuesday's Uefa Cup group stage draw in Switzerland.
Spurs were rated ninth in Uefa's seedings and join Bolton in pool two, while Everton are in the third tier with Aberdeen in the bottom eight.
This means they could face a top seed such as Villarreal or Bayern Munich.
The 40 clubs will be drawn into eight groups of five, with each playing two home and away matches. Clubs from the same country cannot be paired together.
The top three in each of the groups will join the teams finishing third in the Champions League groups for the knockout rounds, which start with 32 sides.
Werder Bremen midfielders Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski are back in Germany's squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Ireland and the Czech Republic, but striker Miroslav Klose and captain Michael Ballack are still missing.
Klose has re-injured his right knee and Ballack is still recovering from an ankle operation. The Chelsea midfielder has not played since April. Klose leads the Bundesliga with eight goals for Bayern Munich.
Also missing are defenders Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich and Christian Pander of Schalke and Stuttgart midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger.
Frings and Borowski return after missing the start of the season with knee injuries. Also back is Werder defender Clemens Fritz.
Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez is also back in the 22-man roster announced by coach Joachim Loew on Friday. Gomez missed last month's qualifier against Wales and the friendly against Romania.
Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is in the squad although he hasn't played for more than a month because of an elbow injury.
Germany leads Group D with 22 points from eight games. The Czechs have 20 points from nine games and Ireland 14, also from nine games.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Timo Hildebrand (Valencia), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal)
Defenders: Gonzalo Castro (Bayer Leverkusen), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Manuel Friedrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Marcell Jansen (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart), David Odonkor (Betis Sevilla), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV)
Forwards: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes (Cologne), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04), Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)
04 October 2007
France Coach Raymond Domenech has left Patrick Vieira out of his squad for October's Euro 2008 qualifiers and continues to snub David Trezeguet.
Les Bleus are under pressure after losing to Scotland in September, but they are expected to claim six comfortable points when they face the Faroe Islands and Lithuania.
Vieira is struggling with fitness after being selected for the matches against Italy and Scotland last month and is yet to feature for Inter this term.
'It seems wiser to let Vieira rest and get himself back into shape,' Domenech explained. 'For the last games he wanted to be there at all costs, but this time he seemed less determined.'
Surprisingly, Domenech has left the free-scoring Trezeguet out of his 23-man squad in a decision that is likely to be linked to the pair's tempestuous relationship.
'It pays to have competition,' the ex-Monaco tactician insisted. 'There are lots of strikers and so I have to make my choice.'
France squad: Goalkeepers: Frey (Fiorentina), Landreau (PSG), Rame (Bordeaux)
